Marvellous Maeve Higgins has an apparently meandering style that conceals some seismic punchlines. Now resident in the US, she reveals how running a comedy workshop in Iraq and podcasting with different immigrants has led her to a more global consciousness. She shares some brilliant writing "cheats" for silencing your inner critic, and we explore in detail the close relationships she has cultivated with the editors of her novels and column...

One of the writers and stars of Northern Ireland's most successful sitcom "Give My Head Peace", wonderful Tim McGarry is adept at walking the tightrope of offence. We talk about his origins with The Hole In The Wall Gang; how it felt to write sketches about paramilitaries during the Troubles; and Stuart asks a "wanky" question that yields some interesting results...

An irrepressibly charming personality, Aisling Bea’s standup bubbles over with unusual perspectives and ludicrous family stories; few acts have climbed as high as fast. She talks here about finding a balance between her sitcom success and her comedy career, intimidating herself, and loving working…

Comedy speaks through Tommy Tiernan like an elemental force. One of Ireland’s most respected comic exports, his latest challenge is to improvise an hour without repeating anything he’s ever said before. We discuss the problems this presents, what led him to take it on, and where and when to wave your mickey in the moonlight…

David McSavage is one of Stu’s all-time favourite performers, with an incredibly elastic, glib and scathing sense of humour. In between slinging barbs at his homeland and his fellow comics, he gives us a glimpse of a man perpetually at war with his inner demons and his need to be appreciated by his father.
We also discuss his TV series “The Savage Eye”, his often breathtakingly rude street-show, and the glee to be found in attacking the innocent…